Penguins News

Penguins Name UPMC's Christopher Harner Head Team Physician

Dr. Christopher Harner, recently appointed president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, has been named head team physician of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced.

Dr. Harner is one of the founders of the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine.

He will be joined by Dr. Tanya Hagen (associate team physician) and Dr. Dharmesh Vyas (assistant team physician) as the lead team overseeing the Penguins' medical care. One of those three doctors will travel to all of the Penguins road games, in addition to the traditional coverage provided at home games.

The moves come as part of an overall restructuring of the Penguins' medical program -- a transition spurred by the recent announcement of the new UPMC performance training center and practice rink in Cranberry (scheduled to open in 2014).

Under the new structure, Penguins players also will have access to top UPMC doctors in more than 15 specialties.

"We are excited to welcome Dr. Harner, Dr. Hagen, Dr. Vyas and the other UPMC specialists as part of our new and expanded medical team," said David Morehouse, CEO and President of the Penguins. "And we anticipate that the UPMC performance training center will become the preeminent center in North America for hockey training and rehab.

"We also would like to thank Dr. Charles Burke, who has been such an integral part of the Penguins' medical team over the past 24 years. We appreciate all the outstanding services provided by Dr. Burke and his team of specialists and wish them the best in the future."